Fate's Variant
by NemesisVariant
Summary: Jonah Devonshire, a detective in the Saynor PD, thought that a change in scenery might be good in his life when he was transferred to Portland. He never suspected that his new partner would be a Grimm. (We're back from hiatus!)
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys, this is my first fanfic on here, entitled Fate's Variant. I hope you enjoy it! Also, feel free to comment, since this **_**is **_**my first fanfic and I probably need a bit of help. Lastly, updates may be a little random, but schedule permitting, I want to try to get up a chapter per week. Anyway, hope you like it.**

Chapter One

_Hundjäger!_

The thought nearly sent Jonah reeling, but he managed to reign in control of his reaction. He made his face a mask, blank of any emotion, before rising. _No one else can know_, he thought, straightening his jacket as he strode away from the grouping of plants at the edge of the sidewalk. Jonah was glad of his experience in hiding his emotions; Hundjäger stench was practically covering the crime scene, and some primal instinct threatened to shear through his calm façade and make him flee as quickly as possible.

It was a clear night in Saynor, with the nearly-full moon shining down on the city filled with demons and mortals. The sign for the Science and Research Building of Saynor College was burned out, with only the 's' of 'science' and the first 'e' in 'research' occasionally flickering a painful blue light. It contrasted with the deep red of blood on the pavement, right outside the office doors and covering the victim. Said victim was Corey Lewis, a professor at the college and administrator of the Science and Research Building. The blood was from a wound- well, many wounds- to his stomach, chest, and neck. It hadn't been quick.

Jonah noticed his partner, Detective Ford, waiting by the edge of the tape, staring him down. "Thanks for waiting up, Devonshire."

He caught the sarcasm in her voice and nodded sheepishly. "Sorry about that. It seems we need to work on our team dynamic."

"We?"

"… mostly me." _Pick your battles, _he reminded himself, forcing his hands to unclench. _You _are _rather irritable tonight. Blame it on the Hundjäger._

Ford nodded, lifting up the tape. "I'll take over looking around, if you want to talk to the witness?"

For once, her spotlight-craving was appreciated, and Jonah agreed. _Anything to get away from that._

The ambulance was parked away from the police cars, far enough that the stench was not so apparent. A disheveled woman sat in the back with a blanket draped around her shoulders. "Excuse me, Miss Bronson? Might I have a moment of your time?"

She nodded, rubbing her eyes a bit. "Can I go home soon? I just, I need to sleep."

"This won't take long, ma'am," he replied gently. The first time, seeing someone taken from life like this, it was never easy. This woman was handling the situation a lot better than he had, with his first case long ago. "If you could just go over what happened, what you saw…"

She nodded, casting a glance over at the flashing lights from the cruisers. "I was just ending my shift- I'm a technician, Professor Lewis was overseeing my work. I had to stay behind and submit some paperwork, so he told me goodnight and walked out. Next thing I know, there was screaming and I ran downstairs and he just-" She breathed in sharply, closing her eyes tight. "You see what I saw."

He nodded, mentally adding her statement to his hypothetical case file. "Did you see anyone you didn't know around the office today, or maybe earlier in the week?"

The lab tech shook her head, then hesitated. "There's a new guy who delivers the lab equipment. You know, test tubes, beakers, Bunsen burners, that kind of thing. He's been around four times this week."

Jonah frowned. "Is this unusual?"

"Well, sort of. We don't normally need so many, but there were several accidents this week, stuff was broken."

"By whom?"

"…I'm not sure."

He stood a bit straighter, satisfied that she would most likely not know much else and that she was truthful with what she did divulge. "Thank you, Miss Bronson. You'll need to go to the station to give your full statement, but that can wait until the morning. If you can think of anything else," He reached into his pocket and produced a business card, which he offered to her. "Please don't hesitate to call."

She accepted it, drawing the blanket a little tighter around her shoulders and otherwise not acknowledging the gesture. The sadness was going to hit her in full, soon. He hoped she was close enough with someone that would help her through it.

Jonah strode back to the crime scene warily, pausing to study the people going to and from: several beat cops, Ford gathering evidence from around the body, some people from forensics, a couple of civilians milling around the edge of the tape. He frowned: his Captain was nowhere in sight. A high-profile case such as this, he most certainly would've come out. Strange.

Ford caught sight of him and waved him over. She handed him an evidence bag with what looked like torn paper inside, though the writing was hard to decipher from the blood soaked in. "Found that in what used to be the victim's jacket pocket. We'll need to send it to the lab, get them to clean it up."

Jonah nodded, handing it off to one of the forensic investigators who passed at that moment. After a brief explanation, he sent him on his way and turned back to Ford. "Any sign of a murder weapon?" _Probably won't find one._

She shook her head, confirming his suspicion. "No, but it doesn't look like he was stabbed. More like clawed, maybe bitten."

"I would agree with you, but look around. No animal tracks, no blood trails. Also, if it was a kind of wolf or something, it wouldn't have left the body as intact as it is." As he spoke, he wondered why a Hundjäger would kill like this. Their kills were usually clean: professionals preferred firearms to their natural weapons. _So perhaps an amateur? Or maybe it was personal?_

Ford nodded, focusing on the corpse. "Strange case," she remarked. When Jonah nodded in agreement, she asked "Anything useful from the witness?"

They began to walk to the edge of the crime scene as Jonah explained the information Miss Bronson had given him. "So, not much then."

"Well, the equipment delivery truck may be a lead. May as well look into it, as well as exactly what's going on in that lab."

"What, you think the professor was up to something less-than-legal?"

"Maybe. Let's keep our theories open, though." This was good: actual discussion with his usually-hostile partner. Maybe they could actually make this work, which would be a feat in of itself.

"Getting ahead of yourself, as always, Jonah. Wait for the evidence." Or, maybe not.

As they reached the car, Jonah's phone buzzed in his pocket. Seeing the exasperated look on Ford's face, he gestured toward the car. "You go on ahead, I'll catch a cab later."

"Night, partner," she muttered, opening the door.

His phone buzzed again as she drove away, and Jonah finally answered it. "Devonshire."

"Hey, Jonah," Captain Roth greeted. "Sorry I couldn't get out there, I have something to talk to you about, it's urgent."

Jonah spied a bench not too far away and strode over to it, sitting practically for the first time that day. "Sir?"

"I want to run it by you before I put anything in, but how would you like a transfer?"

"A… transfer? Why?" Jonah frowned at the news, glancing around at the buildings.

"For some bureaucrat who wants to screw with the line-up. We're required to send at least one detective up to Portland. Honestly, I think it might be a better fit for you than Saynor."

"…why do you say that?"

He could hear his captain shift uncomfortably from the other end of the line. "Look, you're one of my best detectives, Jonah, but let's face it: you don't get along with anyone at the precinct, maybe even the whole damn city."

"Including you?"

"Especially me. You are, putting it mildly, the most distant person I have ever met, it makes dealing with you really frustrating at times. Yet you close the most cases, 'cause you're clever and have a drive that puts you leagues above anyone else."

This was all true. Maybe a little too true. "So you're sending me away because… I'm not a team player."

Roth huffed with annoyance. "See, this is my point. First of all, I am asking you, but have half a mind to order it without being courteous. Second, I chose you for this because you're the best, and Portland needs you more than Saynor."

Jonah snorted. "Exactly how much crime is there in Portland?"

"More and more. That place has a worse crime rate than Saynor has ever had, and that's only in the last couple of years. I'm friends with a captain down there, and he predicts that it's only gonna get worse. And, as it turns out, his precinct has a temporary opening."

The detective sighed, running his hand over his hair. "Fine, it makes sense. But, is it possible for me to leave soon? As in, leave-this-case-to-someone-else soon?"

"Why, what's wrong?"

Jonah lowered his voice significantly. "Hundjäger. Scent's all over the scene."

There was silence from the other end for a few seconds. When Jonah had first started at the precinct, he could tell that Roth was Wessen, and vice versa. They had confronted each other about it, and agreed to keep their designated species to themselves. Privacy was very important to both men. "I'll assign whoever takes over with Ford to the case. You can leave before the week's end, with time off to prepare starting now."

Jonah couldn't help smirk at the idea of leaving Ford and her annoying personality behind once and for all. "Very well. Thank you for calling, sir, before you put in the transfer."

There was quiet from the captain, then, "I'm gonna miss you, kid." Then, the line went dead.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys, here's the second chapter! Sorry it's a little later than I said it would be… also, thanks for the kind reviews on the last chapter. I hope you enjoy this one too.**

**(Also, apologies if this seems like it jumps around some, the website won't recognize when I put in breaks for some reason.)**

Chapter Two

"He should be arriving today, Sean."

Captain Sean Renard of the Portland PD nodded. "And you're sure that I can trust this detective?"

There was a pause from Captain Roth's side and Renard sighed. With all the dramatic pauses this man was capable of, it was hard to tell whether something was actually wrong or not. "Of course. He is, or was, the best detective I've had in years."

"Very well. How's Monica?"

"She's doing well, thank you for asking." Renard could hear the happiness in the older man's voice. His wife had recently come back from the hospital, where she had been incapacitated for some time after a heart attack.

"Tell her I said hi."

"Of course. Don't be a stranger, alright?"

Renard smirked and hung up the phone. It was a running joke between them, 'don't be a stranger'. They both had their work, official and not-so-official. It was hard to be more than a stranger with just about anybody. It was miracle that Roth and Monica were still together, in Sean's opinion.

There was a knock at the door, two quick raps. Nick, then. "Come in."

Detective Nicholas Burkhardt opened the door, looking a bit disheveled and tired. Spying the cell phone still in Renard's hand, he moved back a step. "Oh, I can come back…"

"No, it's fine," Renard replied quickly, setting the phone down and waving him into the office.

"Just thought I would give you an update on the McKay murders. Case: closed."

"Really?" Though Renard was pleased, Nick had only received the case earlier that day. "That was fast."

Nick lowered himself into the chair opposite the captain. "Turns out, it was a robbery gone wrong, perpetrated by one of the neighbor's kids, Jacob Tull." He rubbed the back of his neck like it was sore. "Once we caught him, he confessed to everything. That along with the forensic evidence made the case solid."

"Are you alright?"

"Kid was a Hässlich. Put up a decent fight." Renard winced, and Nick shrugged. "Yeah, I'm fine. Any word from Hank?"

Renard frowned. "Why would he call me and not you?"

Nick reached into his pocket and pulled out some bits of wire and plastic. "Well, this _used _to be my phone…"

"I'm guessing the Hässlich did that? That wasn't too long ago, right? Hank wouldn't have tried to call just in that wrong portion of time." _That would be kind of amusing._

Nick grinned a little sheepishly, pocketing the smashed phone. "Well, Hank has no way of knowing that, and you're probably the next person he'd call." _Really? _"You or Juliette, Wu maybe." _And the moment's gone._

"I will tell you if he does. Speaking of partners, yours should be arriving soon."

Nick stopped at the news, then nodded. "What's gonna happen to Detective… Devonshire?- when Hank gets back?"

"Either there will be another partnership open, or he'll be transferred again. Don't worry, Detective Griffin is still your partner. And it's not like I'm saddling you with a rookie, Devonshire has been on the force about as long as you have."

Nick nodded, but he still seemed a bit uneasy. It didn't feel right, gaining a new partner when Hank was only going to be gone for a month or so, helping his cousin in Maine with god-knows-what. Still, he stood, resolving to make the best of this situation.

"And, since you just closed a case in half a day, want another? There's been a robbery at Truman Bank down on Stark Avenue, Wu's already there and will fill you in."

"Yes, sir," Nick understood that he was being dismissed and made for the door.

He was passing the reception desk when he heard a man arguing quietly with the officer behind the counter. "No, like I said, I don't have my badge yet, this is my first day."

"Your badge should have been mailed to you. I'm sorry sir, I can't let you up to see the Captain."

"Can you at least call him? He's expecting me, my name is Jonah-"

"Detective Devonshire?" Nick asked, pausing beside the desk. Two sets of eyes turned to him.

"Yes," the taller man replied a bit hesitantly. "You… are you Captain Renard?" _There's no way you're the Captain, _the dubious expression on his face said.

Nick smiled thinly. "No, Nick Burkhardt." He stuck out his hand. "I'm your partner."

Devonshire nodded, clearing the cloudy expression from his face, and shook hands with Nick. "Right, of course. Nice to meet you."

"Likewise," Nick replied, seeing the receptionist go red with embarrassment. He turned and addressed him. "Maybe you could call up to the Captain, tell him the new detective's here and he needs a gun and shield."

As the officer rushed to do this, Nick turned to Jonah, who was staring at him with a slightly curious expression. "You'll need to get your stuff as soon as possible, we have a case."

"Alright… do you know where the Captain is?"

"In his office. This way," Nick started back up the stairs.

"Thanks," Jonah muttered, a little distractedly, his gaze moving around the station. Nick got the impression that he was trying to map the area out in his head so that he wouldn't get lost again.

They soon reached the Captain's office, and Renard welcomed them inside. Renard exchanged words with Devonshire, the usual "Welcome to the precinct" "Happy to be here, sir" spiel that was prepared for all new people who joined the precinct. Jonah answered in accordance, but his posture indicated nervousness in the Captain's presence. Nick was sure that Renard would notice, but the Captain chose to ignore it.

"Unfortunately, I can't issue your firearm to you until you get your badge- which should have been here by now. I'm looking into that. Until then, I presume you have a spare?" A nod. "Do you have it with you?"

Devonshire frowned. "No sir. I didn't think that would be a good idea."

"Right. Well, bring it in tomorrow, you can use that until we get you one. Now, did Nick already explain that you have a case?"

"Yes sir, we were just going."

"Great. Let me know when you get anything." It was an abrupt dismissal, which surprised Nick, but Jonah took it in stride, standing just as abruptly and making for the door. It was then that Nick realized that Renard was, at least a bit, nervous around Jonah as well.

"So, where are we going?" Jonah asked once they were in the car. He'd been on edge since he first arrived at the precinct and didn't understand why. Well, he completely understood why with Captain Renard- he was some kind of Wesen, one that smelt of death and decay and a hidden nervousness that reflected his own. Did the Captain know Jonah was Wesen? Or was he just freaked out by him?_ I do have that effect on some people…_

But as his new partner pulled out and explained what he knew of the case, Jonah didn't understand why his scent was vaguely familiar. He'd never met Detective Burkhardt before, of that much he could be sure, but still… a tug of doubt remained in the back of his mind.

Jonah forced the thoughts back and focused on what Nick was saying. In any case, he was willing to give his new partner a chance, maybe the Captain too. Maybe even this city.

He noticed dark clouds gathering at the skyline and felt his spirits drop slightly. _Maybe if this damn weather lets up, I'll give this place a chance._


	3. Chapter 3

**Hi guys, it's been a while, and if you don't want to hear me ramble for a bit, you can just skip down to the non-bolded words (I totally don't blame you). **

**So, computer time has been limited lately, since I've been trying to keep my grades up in school. This has been hard because I've been sick numerous times and keep having to catch up on work, which left me with very little free time to write. Also, I'm guilty of attempting to plan out the entirety of this story, and two that will proceed it. Let's just say, it wasn't a good idea, considering I've already changed a bunch of stuff. And the one bit I failed to plan? This chapter. I should never be given any modem of power, ever, because I would probably end up forgetting that I had it at all.**

**In any case, I am very sorry for the delay, and the shorter chapter than the rest. Still, I hope you enjoy!**

Chapter Three

The car ride went pretty well, in Nick's opinion, though Devonshire offered very little input into the case, instead opting to stare out the window and throw Nick a glance every once in a while, which Nick took as an indication that he didn't know what to say. Still, he was a good listener, and took the sparse details of the case that Nick already knew. After that, the drive was conducted mostly in silence.

Finally, they pulled up in front of Truman Bank, and it began to rain. _I knew it, _Jonah thought in annoyance, hunching his shoulders and hoping not to get too wet. He already had a sense that his presence was making Detective Burkhardt uncomfortable, but he'd never been a people-person and hoped that his new partner would understand, unlike Ford had when they were first assigned to work together. _Can you at least __**try **__to make small talk? It's like I'm speaking to a wall or something, Jesus._ Jonah was glad that Nick hadn't reacted like that.

A sergeant stood just outside the doors, umbrella in hand, a cocky smile on his face while he watched them approach. "Hey, Nick. And…other."

"Wu, this is Detective Devonshire. He's filling in for Hank while he's away. Jonah, this is Sergeant Wu."

Jonah greeted the sergeant, who didn't lose the smile. Probably a people-person. Then, the trio made their way inside the building.

The building was new in terms of architecture, but whoever had built it went to great lengths to make it appear old, with a ceiling painted with clouds and stars, and bricks were practically everywhere, the walls, the steps, even the tellers' booths. Witnesses had been shepherded to the far side of the bank, where there was several benches and officers taking statements. There were about thirty-five witnesses, and someone had had the foresight to not put them outside when a storm was coming. Poor planning, though, to leave them in the same room a body was.

The victim was a teller, who was slumped behind her booth, a single bullet wound to her temple. A gun with a small caliber, it seemed, and not a through-and-through. Jonah put on gloves, crouched beside the body, and studied her while still listening to Wu in the background.

"About an hour ago, employees and patrons were going about their day when three people with masks and pistols run in and order everyone to the ground. They each take different tellers, ask for money. Weird thing, they all ask for different amounts. Anyway, the victim, Jennifer Matthews, tries to slip a dye pack into the bag and the perp sees her, kills her immediately, and runs out without the money. The other two did make off with theirs, though."

Jennifer's hands were stained purple from the dye pack, and so was the counter. She looked young, probably late twenties or early thirties, with blonde hair and tanned skin about the same tone as Jonah's. She had been a Wesen of some sort, the scent still hung in the air, but that hardly mattered now. He glanced over at Nick, who was also inspecting the body at this point, but who was looking more at her hands. "Look. Blue paint over the purple dye."

Jonah frowned at this discovery. "Looks more like plastic. What could she have touched after the dye pack?"

"His mask…" a voice called over, and Jonah stood, seeing that it came from where the witnesses were gathered. The one who had yelled was a short, older man with thick glasses and a shaky voice. "She scratched his mask right before… she was such a brave girl…"

"Calvin Morris. One of the other two tellers," Wu muttered and Nick stood.

Nick and Jonah both walked over to the man, which Jonah found peculiar as he was used to splitting the job with other partners he had in the past. But Nick hadn't said anything to the contrary, so he guessed this was how he worked with his other partner.

"Mr. Morris, I'm Detective Burkhardt, this is Detective Devonshire. What can you tell us about what happened?" Nick asked, his voice calm and reassuring.

Morris retold basically what Wu had already said up until Jennifer tried to put the dye in the bag. "That monster saw her and he kept, kept saying he would kill her, and Jenny just went for him, trying to stop him." The man dabbed at his eyes with his sleeve, staring up at both of them. "Thirty years I've worked here, the building's been robbed six times, and this is the only time anyone's died. Why did it have to be Jenny?"

"Were you and Jenny close, sir?" Jonah asked quietly, sure that speaking in even a normal tone would upset the man even more and he would become incoherent. He was sure Morris wanted to help, but there was only so much time before grief really set in.

The teller looked over at the detective, seeming surprised that he had spoken. "Yes, yes, she was like a daughter to me. Her mom and her didn't talk anymore, her father, well, she never said. But she didn't have any real family, no one who would care." He said these last words with some spite, angry that no one would care about the girl he considered family.

Nick saw this and took note. "You care, Mr. Morris, and so do we. We're going to find who did this to her, but we need your help with that. Can you remember what any of them looked like? Their masks?"

The witness seemed to compose himself a bit and nodded. "Two of them had blue masks, and one had red. They looked like wolf masks, but they were, were _disturbing_. It's, it's hard to explain. I'm not sure what else I can think of, I'm sorry."

"Thank you, sir. If you can think of anything else, please call," Nick said, handing the miserable man a card with his number on it. "We're very sorry for your loss."

They spoke with Wu briefly, telling him what they found, before saying goodbye and walking out to the car. It was raining harder and the sky was almost as dark as night, so Jonah had no qualms about running to the car.

"Not a fan of the rain?" Nick asked in a joking voice when he got in the car beside Jonah a few moments later.

"Nah. Probably should've thought of that before moving to Portland." He replied with a chuckle.

"Let's head back to the precinct, see if we can find out who the vic's mother is and who sells masks like the ones Mr. Morris described."

"Maybe we could also look at other bank robberies in the area, see if there's a pattern."

Nick nodded, starting up the car. "Good thinking."

_That went pretty well_, Jonah thought, studying the sky, but he couldn't see any sign of the rain letting up. Nick was obviously a more than competent partner, with good observation skills and instincts. And he wasn't a jerk. If past partners were anything to go off of, that was a bonus.

-break-

In an abandoned building just outside of Portland, Milo Anders received a phone call. After fishing it out from his coat pocket, he frowned at the name: Briar, one of his field agents. But he was out on assignment, monitoring the Grimm. Why would he risk a phone call?

He moved from his position in front of the closet door, nodding to his bodyguard to keep watch. Then, he strode to the other side of the room and answered. "What do you think you're doing?"

The question seemed to take Briar aback for a moment, then his quiet voice muttered into the phone "You know I wouldn't have called unless it was of the utmost importance."

"Well then, spit it out."

There was another pause and an intake of breath. Milo understood that he was testing the younger man's nerves, but Briar would just have to deal with it. "The Grimm has a new partner, and I recognize him from one of the Verat files."

Milo blinked in surprise. This _was_ important. He'd have to remember not to sell Briar short again. "Is he a former operative? An active one?"

"No, sir. His name's Jonah Devonshire. You'll have to look up the file yourself, because I don't remember much but I know that they attempted to recruit him when he was young, and the file said he was terminated. That's why I was in the files in the first place, looking for possible sympathizers."

In any other instance, Milo would've praised the boy on his initiative, but the name 'Jonah Devonshire' had struck a chord in the back of his mind. "Listen to me, Briar. You need to be very careful. I'm familiar with this case, and Detective Devonshire is extremely dangerous. Keep your distance."

"Why?" the younger man asked incredulously, as if nothing were more dangerous than he nor his boss. "What is he, Cucuy? Manticore? Siegbarste?"

Milo lowered his voice, so as not to worry his body guard. "He is reported to be Riddari."

The line went silent for so long that Milo thought he had been disconnected. Then, Briar replied "I will keep my distance." Then, there was a click, and Briar hung up.

_Riddari_, Milo thought, lowering the phone from his ear. _And a free Riddari at that, not controlled by the Verat or by us. There is nothing more dangerous than indecision._

He strode back to the closet, which held a prisoner whom he wished to interrogate himself. Usually, he deferred to his bodyguard, or to Briar's expertise, but this prisoner had been trying to sell a drug to the Verat that had been meant for Milo's organization after the initial development. This one, he would take pleasure in.

He tried to put the Riddari out of his mind, but in his subconscious, he knew that if Detective Devonshire could not be turned, he would have to be executed.

**One last note: To the anon who asked if Jonah had ever met a Grimm before, all I can tell you without spoiling anything is that he's never met one **_**directly**_**. I know, that doesn't clear things up at all, but I promise things will be explained it the coming chapters!**


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